


Do you care?

by TheHolyMackerel



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Corrupted Spy, Corrupted Teammates, Corruption, Crying, Death, Demonic Possession, Demons, Fighting, Fighting Back, M/M, Medic is constantly concerned, Minor Original Character(s), Paranoia, Purification, Respawn, Scout is so done, Search for a Cure, Slow Burn, Trying to resist, War, more tags to be added soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-04-25 16:08:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14382201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHolyMackerel/pseuds/TheHolyMackerel
Summary: In the middle of a war against RED and BLU, a strange disease breaks out, infecting some of the mercenaries. The "disease" did not go away, even when the infected mercenaries were put through respawn, and it was critically affecting both of the two teams. The RED Medic knew that the strange symptoms of the disease were unnatural.





	1. The Presence

**Author's Note:**

> THE HOLY MACKEREL (the weapon) IS THE BEST YEAHHHHHHHH

It was cold outside, but inside the RED base was warm. Medic inspected the black substance on his glass sample tray. It came leaking out of the infected Heavy's mouth, sometimes mixed with his blood. From his investigations, the black substance was made from dead blood cells, mixed with some kind of bacteria that disabled the cell's function. That was all he had found about the strange substance, but he knew there was more things to find. The bacteria was unnatural; it was nothing that he remembered from his studies.

The team's doctor glanced at Heavy, who was sitting on the examination table, eyes closed. The giant seemed to be thinking peacefully, until a small coughing fit shook his whole body. Thick, black liquid slipped out of the corners of his mouth, and he wiped it away with a tissue. Medic looked at his closest friend in worry. The Heavy smiled at the doctor, trying to show him that he was okay.

"Do not worry, Doktor." said Heavy. "Heavy can handle small sickness."

_But it isn't small,_ thought Medic.  _It is not normal._

"You may go to ze room now." said the doctor. "I am going to try to find ze cure for thiz thing."

The Heavy nodded quietly and jumped off of the examination table.

"See you in dinner." said Heavy. He walked out of the Infirmary and closed the door behind him, humming a soft tune to himself as he walked down the hall.

Medic let out a sigh and pushed his glasses into place. He turned to the sample tray, trying to push away his worry, only to gasp when the lights flickered off. There was barely any light in the room. The Medic squinted, trying to peer through the darkness. He blindly felt the top of the table. A few heartbeats later, his hand brushed against a small, cardboard box. He grabbed it carefully.

Picking up the matchbox, he felt with his fingers to find he opening. He pulled out a match and lit it swiftly.

The small flame was faint, but light enough for the doctor to see. He started towards the light switch, only to freeze at the sight of a figure leaning against the door.

Its form was darkened in the shadows, but its blood-red eyes seemed to glow through the darkness. It stared into the German's eyes, as if trying to look into his soul.

Medic took a step backwards, wondering how someone got into the base without setting off the alarm. He felt a sudden fear in his mind. The room grew colder. The flame flickered.

_Hello there.. "Doctor".._ it said, but its mouth did not move. _I see that you already met the Corruption._

"Corruption?" asked the Medic, trying to keep his voice calm. "Is zat what zis disease is called?"

_Yes._ The voice seemed to be coming from the inside of Medic's head. _And you were right about this being more than a disease._

"Vhat?" the Medic stared uncertainly at the figure. "Can you tell me ze symptoms of zis Corruption?"

The figure let out a laugh that made the German's spine tingle uneasily.

_You will see for yourself soon, "Doctor"._ The figure smiled, the inside of its mouth glowing with the same color as his eyes, and that was when Medic knew that the figure was not human. It closed its eyes and it disappeared into the shadows.

The Medic let out a sigh of relief as the lights came back on. The fear melted away and he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for dinner. Medic put down the box of matches and threw his used match away. He put away his supplies and walked out of the door, turning off the lights.

As he walked down the hall, he wondered how Heavy was doing. He will see soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made this while playing a game :/


	2. Cold Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FISH KILL! AHAHAHAHA

Even when he was wearing a coat over his usual clothes, Spy could still feel the cold air against his skin. He shivered, and took a drag from his lit cigarette. He breathed out the smoke and watched it disappear into the cold air. Leaning against the front of the RED base, he watched the Pyro playing in the snow. He did not understand how the firebug could stand the cold. The war against the BLUs were paused temporarily, due to the severe case of "Corruption", as what the Medic called it.

He took out the cigarette from his mouth and dropped it onto the frozen ground, crushing it with his feet. He took out a new cigarette from his disguise kit and lit it with his lighter. The smoke calmed his nerves, but he still felt a little uneasy.

A feeling of being watched sent a shiver down his spine, and his mind darkened. He glanced to his right, but he didn't know if the flash of black and red was real or not. He fully turned towards the area, and looked around, trying to spot the thing again.

Suddenly, cold, icy fingers grazed the back of his neck, then moved to his shoulders. Spy tensed up, right hand reaching for his revolver.

Before he could even get a firm grip on his gun, freezing pain erupted in his back. His gun fell out of his hand, and he covered his mouth to keep himself from crying out in pain. It felt as if someone had stabbed him in the back with the spy-cicle, but the ice was spreading much more slowly. The freezing pain spread to his sides, over his chest, around his head, then it was gone. Spy breathed in and out deeply, his mouth still covered by his hand. The pain was gone, but Spy still felt disturbed and cold.

His hand slowly uncovered his mouth, and dropped to his side. He looked around once more, wondering where that cold thing had disappeared to. His gaze stretched across the white land, but he could not see anything except for the Pyro making snow angels. He breathed deeply once more, then reached down for his fallen gun.

At that moment, the door to the base opened, and Sniper stepped out, dressed in a thick coat to keep him warm against the cold weather. He saw the Frenchman's grim expression, and couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what happened 'ere?"

The Spy masked his own worries with a sneer. "Nothing that should conzern you. Why do you ask, bushman?"

Spy was good at pretend, but Sniper knew that Spy was feeling very uneasy; something was bothering him. "Actually, it does concern me."

Spy raised an eyebrow. "And why does zis conzern you?"

"Well, I don' want any of ma teammates getting hurt, y'know." Sniper answered.

"Wow," Spy snorted. "I did not know zat a filthy bushman would feel anyzing like zat towards his own teammates."

"That hurts, Spook." said the Sniper, faking a look of offense. "You really hurt me."

The Spy laughed harder than he should have, I mean, it wasn't even that funny. The Frenchman kept laughing until it dissolved into ugly snorting.

Sniper started to laugh too, but only because of the Spy's own laughter. _That bloody Spook._

When Spy finished his laughing, he looked at the Sniper. He was actually smiling, with a trace of faint pink dusting the visible parts of his face.

"You're blushin'." said the Sniper, giving the man a smirk.

Spy's smile melted away into a glare. "No, I am not," he said. "It is becauze of ze cold weather."

"Whatever you think, Spook." said Sniper, still smirking.

Spy rolled his eyes, then dissolved into a fit of coughing. Sniper waited for the Spy to finish, but he didn't stop. He kept coughing. The Australian thought that it was just a simple cold, but he really started to worry when he saw specks of blood littering the ground.

"Hey, Spook, ya okay?" he asked, patting the Spy's back.

"I-I do not know." the Frenchman said between coughs. He tried to gulp down air, choking on his own blood.

His whole frame shuddered, and each cough burned his throat. He was losing air, and he didn't know what to do. His vision blurred at the sight of his own blood and from the lack of oxygen. His legs buckled, and he fell forward, unable to hold himself up anymore

Sniper caught him just before he hit the frozen ground, trying not to panic. It was hard not to when there was a lot of blood littering the ground and a half-conscious man in his arms. He looked around wildly, looking for any help. He saw the Pyro, who was watching from afar, one gloved hand resting on a deformed snowman.

"Get the Medic!" said the Sniper, pointing to the doors with his head.

The Pyro heard the urgency in the Australian's voice and scrambled away from the snow, running to look for the Medic while letting out muffled sounds.

Sniper felt the Spy shivering violently, and pressed against him, trying to keep him warm. Spy's eyes blinked slowly, his gaze unsteady. Blood was still fresh on his lips and each breath he took was a struggle. Sniper picked up the light man, hooking his arms under the back of his head and the other arm in the back of his knees. He tried not to move too much, afraid that he might cause more damage to the masked man.

Spy's eyes fluttered closed, and he let out a raspy breath through his nose. His breathing slowed, growing fainter by the second. The Sniper shook him slightly, trying to keep the Spy awake.

"Hey, stay with me." said the Sniper."

Spy let a soft murmur, opening his glazed eyes. Sniper smiled nervously at the Spy. He could tell that the backstabber was trying to stay awake, but he was still bleeding, and it wasn't helping at all.

"Hey! Don't go to sleep." Sniper said, panicking when Spy closed his eyes again.

He shook the Spy again with a little more force. Spy didn't move.

"Wake up, ya bloody Spook!" said the Sniper, pursing his lips at his unintentional pun.

He was getting extremely worried now, and was about to shake the Frenchman again, when the door was kicked open. The Medic looked around wildly, freezing when he saw the state that the Spy was in. His eyes widened, fingers curling into fists. He had seen something like this before.

"Follow me to ze Infirmary." he said grimly. "Do it quickly, but be gentle."

Sniper nodded, relieved that the doctor had come in time. He didn't want to think about what would happen if the German had come later. The walk to the Infirmary was filled with silence, only broken by the shuddering breathing from the Spy. Sniper held him close, hoping that the Spy had stopped bleeding.

A cold feeling washed over the trio. Medic froze in place, eyes darting from left to right. Sniper just looked around in confusion. The lights flickered. Spy groaned and twitched in his arms. After a few moments, the cold feeling passed.

Medic let out a breath and continued to walk. Sniper followed, still confused.

"You felt tha' too, right?" he asked.

The doctor nodded silently in reply.

"..Do you know what that was?" the Australian asked.

Medic's mouth pursed together, then he said, "I am not sure, but I zink that it has something to do with ze Corruption."

Sniper thought in silence. "What's happenin' to the Spook?"

Medic shook his head grimly. "I'm afraid zat he is infected with ze Corruption."

 _Piece 'a piss,_ the Sniper thought.

"Ze Corruption has many symptomz." said the Medic.

He opened the door to the Infirmary and stepped inside, holding the door open to let Sniper in. When Sniper passed by, he swore he saw tears in the corners of the doctor's eyes.

"And so far, I do not like any of zese symptomz."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made this while listening to TF2 music :/


	3. Rising Agression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mackerels are not for eating.. THEY ARE FOR MURDERING! LOLLLLLLLL-

"Will he be okay?"

The Medic wiped the sweat off of his brows, then turned to look at the worried Australian.

"Yes," he said. "He just needz to rest now."

Sniper sighed  in relief, then scooted closer to peer at the sleeping Frenchman. "He's so pale.."

"His skin color is lighter than uzual," the doctor agreed. "And his body heat iz colder too.."

"Does that mean anything?" Sniper began to look worried again.

"..I am not zure." Medic said carefully, not wanting to upset the headshooter. "But I zink that he vill be fine. Now if you vill excuse me, I have to go check on anozer patient."

Sniper nodded and watched the doctor walk away to another room. When the door shut, he turned his gaze back to Spy. The man's breathing was slow and raspy, as if each breath was a struggle. At least he had stopped bleeding. He had already lost too much blood. Sniper gently touched the unconscious man's face, and realized how unnaturally cold it was. Then he wondered why he was getting so worried. He could have just respawned when he died!

Sniper groaned and covered his face, a little embarrassed that he had forgotten that death was not permanent here. Why did he care anyway? He didn't even know much about that Frenchman. Sniper's face heated up at the thought of Spy waking up. Will things be awkward if he did?

Sniper snapped out of his thoughts when he heard muffled voices in the other room. It sounded like Medic and Heavy were not getting along very well. Their words were not understandable, but they seemed to be arguing by the tone of it. He heard a muffled shout, then a crash, as if something had been knocked over. There was a few more muffled words, then a moment of silence. Sniper wondered what the heck was going on in there. A few seconds later, the door opened, and the Medic stepped out, clothes ruffled and fingers twitching.

He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, eyes closed and breathing loudly. Sniper started to approached him, but stopped when he saw the light tears sliding down the doctor's face.

"Hey, wha' happened?" Sniper asked softly.

 Medic didn't respond a few moments. He took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, then straightened up. It was nice to see him trying to stay composed.

"..Heavy iz not.. cooperating." he said in a quiet voice. He was obviously upset and did not want to talk about it.

The Sniper was curious about "cooperating,” but he did not want to force the doctor into telling him.

"Why?" he asked, trying to make his voice as soothing as possible (which was pretty hard to do, since he was more used to shouting curses and muttering insults in a gruff voice instead of comforting anyone).

"..I zink zat it iz becauze of the Corruption." the Medic said, eyes darkening. "It's making him more.. aggressive.. more eazier to anger. It iz not like him to be angered so eazily."

"Oh.."

They sat in silence, broken only by the breathing of the Spy. He let out a soft groan and shifted in the blankets.

"I should check hiz temperature." said the doctor.

He stood up and reached out a hand to Spy's forehead, only to draw it back in surprise. "He iz awake."

Sniper peered over at Spy, just in time to see his eyes blinking open. His eyes were a little clouded, but otherwise, he seemed okay.

"..What ze hell?" the Spy muttered in confusion, sitting up from the blankets.

"Saved yer life back there, outside." Sniper said coolly."You're welcome."

Spy blinked slowly at Sniper, and the Australian mentally slapped himself for forgetting about respawn again. Why now!?

"..Thank you." the Spy mumbled, looking down at his hands.

Sniper just gaped at him, wondering why the spook hadn't teased him. Was he being friendly now?

"You're welcome." said the Sniper, trying not to show his surprise.

"You already said that."

 _Nevermind._ "Shut up, ya bloody spook."

"Herr Spy," Medic said, deciding to ignore the strange, short conversation that had just happened. "How are you feeling? What do you remember?"

"Oh," the Spy thought for a few seconds. "I feel a little.. cold, and different.. but other zan zat, I feel just fine."

"And what do you remember?" the doctor asked, testing the Spy's memory.

"Before I passed out? I think zat I remember coughing up blood?" he seemed a little uncertain. "And.. Sniper.. carrying me.. to the Infirmary." he trailed off there.

Medic nodded and glanced at the heart rate monitor that was connected to his patient. It was beating a little bit faster than normal. He turned to look at the Sniper, and smirked when he saw the Aussie trying to keep his neutral expression. He caught his eye and gave him a knowing smile, making his face heat up.

"Vell, I am glad zat you are feeling fine." the doctor said. "You can alwayz come here to tell me if you ztart feeling unwell."

The Spy nodded, but then tensed up suddenly. His eyes closed. He fell back down to his covers, shuddering and twitching.

The Sniper was about to ask the Medic on what was happening, when he was rudely interrupted by the Spy.

 _"Actually, "Doctor,” I don't think that you can do anything about this."_ the Spy said, except, his voice was very different.

Instead of the sly voice with the French accent, it was a voice that felt like broken glass skittering across rusty metal.

"Wha' are ya talking about.. Spook?" Sniper asked, uncertain if he was actually talking to the Spy or not.

Spy opened his eyes, but it was pitch black, as if it was hollowed out. Black substance slid out of his eyes, more dripping out of his mouth. More substance of Corruption.

Medic stepped back in surprise, eyes widening. The strange Spy let out a laugh, a laugh that sent a shiver down Sniper's and Medic's spines.

 _"What is the matter, Doctor?"_ the Spy asked, smiling too happily.  _"Is there something on my face?"_

He laughed again, pulling out his gun. He rose into the air, as if he was a ghost, then snapped his glove fingers. The lights flickered off, leaving the Sniper and Medic in dark silence. When it turned back on, the Spy was gone.

Sniper looked around, breathing equally as heavily as the Medic. He was confused and shocked. This was not normal at all.

"Wha'.. what was that thing?" he asked.

Medic shook his head. "I do not know, but it haz something to do wiz ze Corruption."

"Let's hope tha' he won't hurt anyone." Sniper muttered.

Fast footsteps echoed down the hallway, and the door burst open. The Engineer ran in, one hand keeping his hat firmly on his head, the other waving frantically.

"Boys! Respawn is down!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made this while it was time to sleep :/


	4. I Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that this username was not taken.

"Vat?"

The look of disbelief shown clearly in the doctor's eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Engie looked around nervously. "I jus' checked the system, and it looks as if some weirdo managed to destroy the respawn codes without riggin' the alarm."

Medic closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Can you fix it, Herr Engie?"

"Yeah, but it'll take 'bout ten to fifteen minutes."

"That vill be enough."

A sudden scream echoed through the entire base. Sniper perked up. "Sounds like Scout."

The Texan nodded. "He's the only one that screams like that."

Sniper would have laughed if he wasn't in such a situation.

"We should go help 'im." he said.

"Ja," the Medic nodded. "Engineer, iz it okay if you can go fix ze respawn code on your own?"

"Hm.." Engie seemed unsure. "Yeah, but be careful, boys."

"Of course." the other two said at the same time.

Engie hesitated, then headed to his workshop.

Sniper and Medic went the other direction, toward the place where the heard the scream. The further they walked, the more worried they got. The room was getting colder, and the feeling of danger surrounded them.

More screaming came from the dining room. Sniper took at his kukri knife, while Medic took out his syringe gun. They both paused, before kicking the door open.

They stepped inside, ready for action, but was immediately thrown backwards by a small body with flailing arms.

"Ge' off o' me, ya bloody wanker!" Sniper growled as he pushed the Scout off of him.

The runner stopped screaming, and scrambled up, letting out a full blown stream of swear words.

"Watch your language, Herr Scout." the doctor snapped.

"Y-you guys don' u-understand!" he stuttered. "There's a f-freaking demon m-monster thing in the k-kitchen!"

"Please, calm down." Medic looked at Scout. "Tell me, what did you zee?"

"Th-this weird floating dude who l-looked like Spy!" Scout exclaimed. "He friggin' tried to k-kill me!"

He pointed at fresh cuts that were still bleeding. His clothes were stained with blood, and the cuts looked pretty deep. "He tried to s-stab me to d-death!"

"Is he still there?" asked Sniper.

His question was answered when a shadow fell over the three. Adrenaline rushed through Sniper's body. They looked up to see the Spy cleaning the blood off of his knife.  _"Hm, back so soon?"_

Sniper stood up to his full height, which was well over the Frenchman. "Why are you doing this..?"

 _"..I guess that I don't feel like myself right now."_ he smiled.

Sniper checked the clock. About five minutes had passed. He had to keep the Spy talking.

"You 'ave never done anything like this before." said Sniper. "You never tried to kill any of your teammates when respawn was down."

 _"Oh, come on, Sniper."_ the Frenchman sneered.  _"Can't a man have some fun, for once?"_

This wasn't like Spy. Everything was different about him. His voice, his eyes, his attitude, his laugh.. only his looks remained the same.

"..You're not actually Spy.. are you?"

The thing laughed.  _"Perhaps not."_

It took out its revolver without warning.  _"Well, let's stop talking, shall we?"_

Before Sniper could react, it pulled the trigger, and a pained noise was pulled out of the Medic. He looked down at his bloody chest. It was bleeding heavily. Medic trembled, then fell to his knees, one hand trying to stop the bleeding.

"Oh Hell no." Scout ran to support the doctor. "Don't die! I don't wanna die either!"

"What are ya' doin'?" Sniper growled, tightening his grip on his knife.

He stopped when he looked into the Spy's eyes. This time, his eyes were normal; not hollow and black.

He reloaded his gun, then raised it to his own head, gloved finger resting on the trigger.

Fear and panic washed over Sniper, and he jumped up to stop him, weaponless arm outstretched. "Wait, stop!"

Spy- the real Spy -froze, and stared at him. "Why?"

Sniper stepped towards the Frenchman, the latter stepping backwards. The Aussie felt words forming on his tongue, and the adrenaline pushed those words out, unable to control it.

"Because I really care about you, ya bloody Spook!" Sniper snarled without thinking.

He realized what he said, and his face heated up. Spy didn't move, his revolver still pressed against his head.

"W-what?" the Spy stuttered-  _stuttered._ He never stutters,  _never._

Sniper walked up to he Frenchman. Spy tried to back up again, but there was solid wall behind him. Sniper reached out a hand, and firmly, but gently, grabbed Spy's gun hand.

He lowered the gun, putting it safely away from the fatal area. Spy looked up at the Aussie, face slick with blood and tears.

"I'm sorry." he whispered softly.

Sniper put a hand on Spy's back, leading him out of the bloody dining room. He saw an unconscious Demoman, and shook him awake.

"Huh? What d' ya want, lad?" he asked, for once, sober.

Sniper checked him over for any wounds. The poor Scottish had no idea what was going on but stood still in confusion. He only had a few scrapes, as if he was dragged across the floor, but otherwise, he seemed okay.

Sniper helped the Demo stand up, and turned to see Scout using the medi-gun on the fallen Medic. He was using it correctly, surprisingly.

Engie ran into the room, swinging his wrench around. "Respawn is back up!"

"Aw." Scout groaned. "You could have said it sooner, Hardhat. I could have just shot the doc' instead of healing him!"

Spy rolled his eyes, wiping the blood and black substance off his face. "You suck."

The doctor opened his eyes. "Huh.. vat..?

He shook his head to clear his daze, then froze. He sprang up, eyes widening.

"I forgot about ze Heavy!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made after I woke up :/


	5. Don't Leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's got to be humiliating to be hit by a fish.

How could he had forgotten about the Heavy? Medic checked himself quickly to see if his wound was fully healed. There wasn't any broken bones. The blood was gone, and the flesh had joined together again, but there was a small bruise that the bullet had left.  _Good enough._

Medic jumped to his feet, frantic energy bursting into his legs. He took a quick breath, then ran away from the other mercenaries. Shouting erupted behind the doctor, followed by shoes clicking on the floor. He knew that they were following him. Medic forced himself to pick up his speed, pushing past his limit. He ran as hard as he could, ignoring the slight pain in his chest.

"Wait, Doc, hold up!"

He ignored the Scout and dashed down the hallway, turning a corner and disappearing from view.

His lungs burned and his legs felt sore. His heart pounded painfully, and his breaths came in wheezing gasps. The solid walls were nothing but a blur to his eyes. Medic slowed down a little, only to turn a corner, and sped up again. He had to get to Heavy, fast. After he saw what the Corruption did to Spy, he couldn't help but wonder if it did the same to Heavy.

The Infirmary came into view, and he sprinted full-on, gasping for air as he went.

He nearly crashed into the door, but fortunately managed to open it before the rest of his body made contact. He slid to a halt, sending pieces of paper flying. His heart rate slowed, taking a break from the long run. Everything was just the same as before he had left, nothing was out of place. His large friend was nowhere to be seen.

"Heavy?" Medic looked around, pushing furniture out of the way. "Vhere are you?"

The room was a mess now, but the doctor didn't care. All he cared about was making sure that his closest friend was alright.

Medic's gaze fell onto the door to the other room. The unnatural silence was unnerving. If Heavy wasn't here, then he must be in the other room.

He walked swiftly to the door, reaching a hand out to grab the doorknob. As soon as he placed his gloved hand on the metal, he stopped. Silence. Medic paused. He thought that he had imagined it, but then he heard it again; a muffled thud, then a crash.

His heartrate sped up as worry settled in, he used his other hand to knock on the door three time. "Heavy? Are you in zere?"

"..Go away, Doktor."

The voice was Heavy's alright, but it was tired and strained, as if he was carrying a truckload of weights on his shoulders. Medic pursed his lips at the sound of that pained voice.

"I.. I am going to come in."

The doctor took a deep breath, hesitated, then turned the doorknob.

Surprisingly, the door was unlocked, and the Medic pulled it open with ease. He made the opening big enough for his head, and peered into the room. The sight made him let out a small gasp.

Paper was scattered everywhere, a desk was flipped over, and the walls were cracked and dented, as if someone had pounded their fists on it.

Crouching behind the flipped table was the Heavy. Black liquid constantly dripped down from his eyes and mouth, and his breathing was hoarse and painful. His veins were black, visible through his skin. His eyes were normal, not black and hollow, which was probably a good sign.

The window above his head was cracked and bloody. Medic's gaze trailed down to Heavy's hands, which were bloody and bruised, shards of broke glass wedged into his knuckles.

The Medic stared into Heavy's eyes. They looked up to meet his, and the doctor felt tears welling up at the pained expression in his friend's eyes.

"Heavy.." Medic stepped forward.

"No.." Heavy's broad shoulders tensed threateningly. "Do not come any closer."

"Heavy, please.." Medic tried to approach his large friend.

"Heavy said no!" the Russian shouted.

He grabbed a nearby chair with a bloody hand, and threw it at the doctor.

Fortunately, the aim was off, and the chair flew past Medic's head, breaking itself on the wall behind him.

Medic flinched at the sound of the crashing wood, the sharp movement causing the tears to slide down his face.

Heavy immediately felt guilty and upset, angry at himself for nearly hurting the doctor again. He was frustrated for getting angry so quickly. He was usually much more calmer than this. "..Sorry, Doktor.."

Medic blinked the tears out of his eyes. "It'z okay, Heavy. It'z not your fault. I forgive you."

He was a monster. A monster that nearly killed his most special friend. Heavy glanced at window above him. The frame of the window seemed big enough for the Russian to fit through. If only he could break the glass..

Medic followed Heavy's gaze, and figured out what the larger man was thinking. "Nein! Don't leave!"

The giant stopped at the desperate pain in his friend's voice. He wanted to stay too, he really did, but forced himself to shake his head. "Heavy must go now."

Fear and despair bubbled up inside the doctor, flooding his mind and pressing against eyes, forming large amounts of tears.

"But v-vhy?" the Medic sobbed, shaking slightly. "Vhy are you l-leaving me?"

The Heavy turned to look at his doctor one last time. He gave him a sad, warm smile, and everything seemed to stop around them, turning peacefully quiet. "Because Heavy does not want to hurt Doktor." Heavy raised an arm, and curled his fingers into a fist, aiming it towards the center of the window. "Goodbye, Doktor."

The glass shattered at the same time Medic's heart did. Heavy's shadow dissapeared from his sight. He wiped the blurry tears out of his eyes, and looked, just to be sure. Heavy was truly gone. There was nothing left except for shards of broken glass and blood.

The shock and realization finally sank in. Suddenly, his tired legs couldn't hold him up anymore. Medic collapsed onto his knees, sobs wracking his body. The door creaked open behind him, and quiet footsteps followed. A gloved hand rested gently on his shoulder.

The doctor slowly looked up to see the sympathetic smile on Engineer's face. "..You alright, pardner?"

Medic nodded, but he wasn't sure if he was. He had just lost a friend.. a friend that was maybe more than a friend. He wiped at his tear-stained face, letting the country boy help him up.

"It's okay, lad. Just take yer time." Demo smiled sadly.

Another uncertain hand placed itself onto Medic's back.

"..Take it easy, Doc." the Scout mumbled, looking a little stunned.

Spy lurked in the corner, pacing awkwardly. Medic couldn't blame him; the Spy wasn't used to that type of emotion or treatment.

Sniper just nodded at him, sympathy clear in his eyes.

He took his time in looking around at everyone's supporting face. They were all there for him. Engie smiled with a comforting aura, and held out his arms, offering the doctor a hug. Medic felt like crying again, but he smiled with thanks and leaned into the warmth. Soothing hands rubbed circles into his back, healing the shattered pieces of the doctor's heart.

Demo and Scout joined into the hug, wanting to help the German as much as possible.

All of these people made Medic feel so happy. Archimedes flew down and perched himself onto Medic's shoulder. He fluffed out his feathers and cooed softly, as if trying to comfort the heartbroken doctor. Medic sniffled and smiled. He had lost someone very important to him today, but now, he wasn't going to lose anyone else.

The Corruption was very deadly, having the ability to mess with the mind, but Medic wasn't going to stand back and just watch it kill all of his friends. In the war against the BLUs, he was always protected by at least one mercenary from his team, usually the Heavy. This wasn't a normal war anymore. Medic wasn't going to be treated like a fragile little flower anymore; he was going to fight to keep everyone of his teammates alive..

Even if he had to fight with the sanity of a mass murderer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made this while taking a shower :/


	6. Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONK BONK BONK SUSHI

Today was a strange day.

"Is it okay if we can go out for a walk, Herr Spy?"

Spy looked up at the heartbroken doctor. He could tell that Medic was still trying to stay strong, trying to keep himself together for the sake of the team. It was quite.. heart-warming, he had to admit.

"But of course." he said.

The Medic smiled and grabbed his coat. Spy stood up from his chair, slipping into his own coat silently. Medic turned to the front doors, leading the man in the red suit out of the base. The weather of Coldfront had fortunately calmed, sending down only small bits of soft snow. They both stepped into the cold, snow crunching under their shoes.

The sky showed that it was early evening, the Sun lazily drifting behind clouds. It was a little dark, but light enough to see clearly.

After they were about fifty feet away from the base, Medic broke the silence. "So.. I have decided zat we should talk. Alone."

Spy nodded. He was not sure what the doctor wanted to talk about, but he knew that Medic was not going to murder him, that was for sure.

"We already know zat you are infected by ze Corruption," Medic started. "But you were infected only recently. I know some of ze symptoms, and studying ze behaviors of Heavy and meazuring ze time of change helped me understand it more."

The doctor's voice wavered when he mentioned Heavy, and Spy felt a glimmer of sympathy. Medic took a quick breath before continuing.

"From my studies, I am pozitive zat you have more zan three weekz until ze Corruption fully contaminates you. Until then, you must try to fight for control to slow down ze process while I try my best to find a cure."

Medic let that sink in for a moment, and caught the flicker of fear in Spy's metallic-grey eyes.

"I see.." Spy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "May I ask.. how do I fight zis infection?"

"You must relax." Medic replied. "Try not to think very strongly, and do not let strong emotions overwhelm you."

"Hm.." the Spy opened his eyes. "Zat doez not seem too hard.."

Medic smiled. "Good to know."

They stopped near the battlefield. The snow had covered most of the signs of the war, save for the faint stains of dried blood on the wood and the bullet holes on the walls. The noise of cold wind was the only sound breaking the silence.

Medic stared into the distance, toward the enemy base. He pushed his glasses into place and watched the falling snow. Spy reached into his pockets for his disguise kit, opening it for one of his cigarettes. He placed it between his lips and pulled out a lighter to light it. The smoke was almost instantly snatched away by the wind.

They stood in near silence, just relaxing in the peaceful cold. Medic leaned against the wall and looked into the distance.  _How strange,_ he thought.  _That dark shape almost looks.._

His eyes widened and he straightened up. The dark figure in the distance looked like a human! He could see its arms swinging quickly, as if it was running. The shape was getting clearer now, and nearer. Spy noticed the flailing human and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Medic squinted. It was hard to make out a clear image. Spy drew his butterfly knife, opening it up quickly. Medic saw a flash of white and blue from the figure, and he knew who it was. The BLU Medic.

He watched his counterpart racing towards them. It seemed that he didn't notice them yet. The BLU doctor slowed to a stop and leaned against a wooden wall, chest heaving for breath. Was he running from something? Medic turned his gaze to the horizon to find whatever was chasing the BLU. There was nothing, only the wind.

The BLU Medic finally caught his breath and looked up. His eyes widened in surprise and he scrambled backwards. Spy raised an eyebrow at him and stepped forwards.

BLU Medic pulled out his syringe gun and pointed it at Spy. "Stay back!"

Spy stopped and frowned. "Quoi?"

The enemy doctor was staring at Spy in a mix of fear and anger, holding his weapon with shaking hands.

"Vat is ze matter, Herr Doctor?" asked the RED Medic. "Vhy are you zo afraid?"

The BLU Medic looked at him as if it was obvious.

"Can't you see?" he cried. "He's a demon, dummkopf!"

Medic scoffed in disbelief. He knew that Medics were supposed to be mad, but this BLU one just seemed absolutely crazy. Maybe even crazier than himself.

He glanced at Spy. Faint dark red pin-striped suit. Matching pants and mask. Dress shoes. There was nothing demonic about the Frenchman. He did not have any bat wings nor did he have curved horns. The only thing that was unnatural about him was the black substance that kept finding its way to his lips.

"He is just infected with ze Corruption." said Medic. "He iz not a demon."

BLU Medic shook his head wildly.

"No, of courze he izn't!" he said with frustration. "He is  _possessed._ "

RED Medic sighed. Spy blinked.

"He iz!" BLU Medic started to tremble. "He attacked you, yes? Zat waz when ze demon waz controlling him!"

Well, it  _did_ seem a little bit more likely now, but RED Medic was still not convinced. "I am pretty zure zat ze Corruption waz just cauzing his brain to malfunction a little."

BLU Medic stared straight into the RED's eyes. "But you saw for yourself zat zis is completely abnormal."

RED Medic took a step back. His counterpart was right, the Corruption was something that he did not understand.

"Okay, enough." RED Medic did not want to deal with this right now. "Can you tell me vhy you were running away from your own baze?"

BLU Medic gritted his teeth. "Iz it not obviouz? I waz running away from mein corrupted teammatez!"

The BLU team.. corrupted? The RED doctor saw what had happened to Spy.. so does that mean that there is a whole team of aggressive mercenaries, thirsty for blood and death?

"..Docteur?"

Spy's quiet voice broke RED Medic from his thoughts. He turned to look at the Frenchman. "Vat iz it, mein friend?"

"Iz this actually.. true?"

Fuck. What should he tell him? The demon theory did seem very likely now, but if he told Spy the truth, then he would get worried and that might cause the demon inside him to awake.

BLU Medic answered for him with the damn truth. "Yes."

That simple word told too much. Spy took a long drag from his cigarette. "I see."

Both Medic could tell that Spy was trying to stay calm. His fingers twitched nervously and his eyes narrowed.

"..Let's go back, mein friend." RED Medic put a gentle hand on the Frenchman's shoulder, leading him back "home".

The BLU Medic just sat there, on the frozen ground, watching the two REDs walking back to their base. His lower lip trembled.  _He was going to die._ His corrupted teammates would find him, and tear him apart, piece by piece. Then he would respawn, and the torture would start again, until he too, is infected.

He closed his eyes, waiting for his dreaded nightmare to come.

"You can come with uz, you know."

BLU Medic opened his eyes. Did he hear that correctly? The RED Medic stood in front of him, a gloved hand reaching out. It was real.. but why would his enemy help him? The BLU Medic had killed his counterpart with his Ubersaw more times than he could count.

RED Medic saw the disbelief in the BLU's eyes, and smiled a little. "We are taking a long break from ze RED and BLU war. Now, we are in a war wiz ze Corruption. It seemz ze most logical to help each other out, no?"

BLU Medic sat there in silence now, a smile of his own forming on his face. The RED, his enemy, had probably just saved both his life and his dignity. "Danke, doctor."

RED Medic helped him up, and turned to the base. Spy stood there, waiting for them on the pathway. He seemed more relaxed, now that he had some to to collect himself. The three started to walk to the base, as the snow started to fall once more.

Today was a strange day, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for them kudos and thank you so much for those treasured comments ;))


	7. Unexpected Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you realize that The Holy Mackerel is a tattoo shop in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The snow was falling heavily now. The three mercenaries struggled through the snow, trying to find the RED base. The cold wind was merciless, blinding the eyes and stinging the flesh.

Spy shivered, tightening his grip on his coat. The cold was slowing him down. He pulled his leg out of the deep snow, and continued through the storm. His eyes caught the warm glow of the base light, and he raised his head.

"Come on, we are almost zere." RED Medic urged the other two to keep on moving.

"Zank you for letting me come." the BLU Medic brushed off the snow that had caught into his hair.

As they approached the base, Spy started to feel uneasy. How were they going to explain.. all of this? They were bringing a  _BLU enemy_ to the  _RED base._

Of course, Spy would have never abandoned the BLU Medic. Unlike most other spies, he was more on the Pacifist side than the Murder side, which was ironic, when he was in a war himself. Still, he only killed people, knowing that they would come back from respawn. He would never want to kill anyone permanently.. not again..

Spy snapped himself out of those thoughts. All of that was in the past, he had to move on now. He would never forget it though, and neither would those people that he had hurt.

The light was brighter now. The base was now easier to make out, glowing against the cold darkness of the snow. It appeared to be the only thing bright in the dark, deserted place of winter. They were almost there.

Sixty feet.. fifty feet..

A shuffling sound came from the right. RED Medic ignored it and continued forwards.

Forty feet.. thirty feet..

Loud crashes came from the left. BLU Medic flinched, picking up speed.

Twenty feet.. ten feet..

A snarl echoed from behind. Spy reached for his butterfly knife.

He whipped around, slashing his knife just before the BLU Pyro got a hold on his suit. The corrupted Pyro staggered backwards, holding a blood-stained hand to its throat. Dark blood poured from the gash, but the creature did not seem too bothered by it. The mask seemed to smile at him.

"Go! Schnell!" RED Medic pushed the two mercenaries forwards, trying to get them to move faster.

 They sprinted for the door, running from the creatures that seemed to have melted out of the shadows. The snow were slowing them down, and the hisses and snarls were growing louder by the second. RED Medic reached the door first, and he grasped the handle with both hands, pulling on it desperately. It wouldn't budge.

"Vy is ze door not opening?" BLU Medic questioned when he reached the door, Spy following closely behind him.

RED Medic pulled at the door again, then again. He stopped, arms slackening. He let go of the door handle, letting his arm fall uselessly to his side. He turned to his counterpart slowly, eyes void of hope. "..Ze door is jammed.."

Spy bit his lip. "Quoi? It was working fine before.."

"Zey did it." RED Medic hung his head. "Ze corrupted did it."

_"Very good!"_

BLU Medic pulled out his bonesaw at the cold voice.

 _"My little "Pyro" found the flamethrower to be quite useful, wasn't it?"_ The BLU Engineer chuckled softly, but his voice was not his own. _"It_ _worked fine with the metal hinges of that door._

RED Medic grabbed his Syringe gun, pointing it at the corrupted Engie.

"Vat do you vant from us?" he asked, hands trembling from anger and fear.

 _"Now now, let's not get too violent."_ The Engie smiled, showing off his blood-stained teeth.  _"We just wanted to give a little gift to someone we knew."_

BLU Medic growled angrily. "Stop controlling my friendz, you stupid demon!"

 _"Oh, but we have to."_ The BLU Demoman wiped away the blood from his hands.  _"They will get in the way, and then we can't give our gift to him."_

"Who is this.. person you knew?" RED Medic asked.

 _"I know that he still remembers."_ The corrupted Engineer pulled out his shotgun, reloading it slowly.  _"He just can't see our real faces right now, but he would recognize us. It's kind of hard not to remember a face thats screaming and crying in pain. You should remember the people that you have killed so slowly."_

"Vat are you talking about?" RED Medic frowned in confusion. "Zis is nonsenze."

Spy stared at the Engie, motionless. That voice.. he remembered that voice. But it can't be.. right?

 _"You remember now, don't you, Frenchie?"_ The BLU Engie smiled, and everyone of the corrupted members turned to stare at Spy, each of them smiling with the sinister promise of a very “fun” time.

"No.." Spy took a step back. Those dark memories that he had tried so hard to forget, rushed back into his head. "You can not.."

 _"Don't worry,"_ the Soldier stepped forwards.  _"Everyone is here. They just didn't find a body yet."_

The whole corrupted team moved forwards, weapons drawn and eyes hallowed.

"Vat are they talking about?" RED Medic asked, turning his head towards Spy. "Do you know them?"

The corrupted Engie raised his shotgun.  _"Say goodbye, doctors."_

Suddenly, a screeching sound came from above. The corrupted creatures stopped and looked up. A fast-moving projectile tore through the cold air, heading straight towards the Engie.

He jumped back in time, and the rocket exploded on the ground, sending snow flying.

 _"What is this?"_ The Engineer hissed.

"Screaming eagles!" RED Soldier, dressed fully for combat, came down from the heavens, his parachute slowing his fall.

"Lettttt’s do thiz!" Demoman, also dressed for combat, followed Solly down on another parachute, sending down the holy rain of grenades.

The grenades rolled across the snow, flashing its red color. They exploded just as the corrupted creatures tried to run.

Snow exploded onto the three mercenaries, who were unaffected by the grenade's explosion. BLU Medic was affected by shock wave, but not the explosion due to taking cover behind the RED mercenaries.

BLU Engineer shook himself out of his daze, growling under his breath.

 _"Kill them all."_ he snarled, raising his shotgun to the sky.

The other corrupted members regained their positions from the explosion, drawing their weapons and growling angrily.

"Attack!" RED Soldier flew in at his counterpart, smashing a shovel into his face. "Maggots! You are all weak!"

Demo also joined in on the yelling, but it was more garbled Drunk-talk than English. The sticky bombs blew the BLU's legs off.

RED Medic pulled out his medigun, healing his teammates and jumping away from harm. BLU Medic paced back and forth from the sidelines, unable to hurt his teammates nor help his RED saviors.

The loud noise of a gun firing echoed from the Sniper's perch. He shot at the limbs, not wanting to kill the BLUs; he knew that the Corruption was controlling the BLU's body. He grimaced and fired another bullet, followed by the sound of a pained shout.

Sniper noticed a figure standing in the middle of the crossfire, and zoomed in on it. The slender figure was Spy. His eyes were closed, and his hands were clenched into fists.  _What is that Spook doing?_

A bullet barely missed his face. jolting Sniper out of his thoughts. He turned back to the battle and continued to shoot at the arms and legs.

Demoman sticky jumped into the corrupted Engie's face, throwing him into the snow.

The Engie hissed, pushing himself up from the ground.  _"We cannot win.. Retreat!"_

He waved his shotgun in the air, calling out to his friends. The BLU Heavy growled angrily, running into the battle again, only to be stopped by the BLU Demoman.

 _"We must flee."_ he muttered.  _"We must find more bodies for our friends.. then we will all have our revenge. We will finally rest again."_

The corrupted Heavy hesitated, then clenched his meaty fists, nodding.  _"Yes.. we must go."_

The BLU Demoman smiled, then turned, running into the darkness of the night. His comrades followed closely behind him, clutching at their wounds and hissing.

The last to leave was the Pyro. He turned to stare at Spy's face, mask seeming to say  _"this is just the beginning.”_ He then turned to follow his teammates into the cold darkness, leaving behind nothing but a trail of dark blood and churned snow.

As soon as the Pyro disappeared, Spy leaned against the wall, sliding down into the cold material.

"Yo, what's up with Spy?" Scout peered around the corner, seeming unscathed due to hiding away from the battle.

"He'z in shock." RED Medic murmured, gently laying a hand on the Frenchman's shoulder.

Soldier landed near the group, sending snow flying. "Each and everyone one of you deserve a medal, except you, Scout!"

"Wait, why not?" Scout shouted.

"You were hiding like a coward while we were all fighting bravely like a true American army!" Solly barked. "I am sure that Miss Pauling would not be impressed!"

"W-what!?" Scout stuttered angrily. "I was not hiding like a coward! The BLU Scout does that, not me! I was just busy.. doing important stuff!"

"Mm, sure son," Soldier hummed. "Whatever you think."

Sniper climbed down from his perch and walked to the small group, strapping his rifle across his back.

"Everythin' alright, mate?" Sniper asked softly, choosing to ignore the nearby bickering.

"Nobody iz seriously hurt, everyvone iz in good condition." RED Medic replied. "We just need to get Herr Spy inzide.."

Sniper looked down at the Frenchman. He was curled up on the ground, breathing quickly and shivering. His eyes were open, but they were twitching uncontrollably.

"Wha' is happening to 'im?" Sniper asked. He felt very worried for the spook, but he did not know why.  _Snap outta it. Why are ya feelin' like this?_

"Huge amount ov stress, sudden thoughtz, fear." the BLU Medic studied the Spy quietly. "He might ve having a panic attack.

"Zen he iz more vulnerable to ze Corruption!" RED Medic exclaimed. "If ve don't calm him, he might loze hiz mind!"

"Wha' do I do?" Sniper offered his help.

"Get him inzide, schnell!" RED Medic said. "We muzt get 'im warm first."

Sniper scooped up Spy into his arms. The cold, shivering body tensed up at the contact, surprised at the sudden movement. Sniper let the two doctors lead him to the Medical Bay, focusing on keeping the Spy comfortable.

They entered the room, where Engie was already turning on the medigun that was positioned above the examination table.

Sniper set Spy down on the table, then paced back and forth, not knowing what to do to help. He watched as the two doctor set to work. RED Medic shifted the medigun's position, while BLU ran to fetch some blankets. Engie placed a hand on Sniper's back, trying to relax him.

"I think that them doctors got it fer now." The Texan said softly. "Why don'cha get some rest? You helped enough for today."

Sniper hesitated, then sank into one of the patient's bed. He watched the Medics trying to calm Spy, whispering encouragements into his ear and pressing warm blankets against his skin. The steady hum of the medigun was familiar to Sniper's ears, and his eyes grew heavy. His thoughts and emotions were a mess right now, causing him to blush. Right now, his confused mind just wanted some sleep.

Just before he closed his eyes, he saw a glimpse of the BLU Scout and BLU Spy standing in the doorway, covered in blood, and battle-scarred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made this while feeling inspired over amazing comments. ;)) Many thanks. (Sorry for not posting for a while.)


	8. Feeling those Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so my username is one of Scout's weapons, my favorite class is Spy, and I main in Medic. What the heck.

He couldn't see. Probably because his eyes were closed. He was wrapped in warmth, so comforting that he felt as if he could finally rest without the troubles. It wasn't just because of the warmth, but also the semi-familiar feeling.. the feeling of getting healed by a Medi-gun.

Spy finally opened his eyes. The first thing he realized was that he was wrapped in fluffy blankets. He sat up slowly, eyes darting around. He was in the Infirmary. He felt his face, and sighed with relief. His mask was still in place. The slow, gentle hum of the Medi-gun helped relax him a little. He pulled out his Disguise-Kit for a cigarette, but then stopped.

Sitting across the room from him, was a BLU. Not the BLU Medic, but the BLU Spy. RED Spy's first instinct was to pull out his knife and stab his counterpart while he was asleep, but then he remembered about the RED Medic's words. This was not a war against the REDs and BLUs now.

A crash from his left, followed by a stream of swears caused Spy to flinch slightly. He turned towards the direction of the sound, narrowing his eyes. The BLU Scout scrambled to his feet, trying to pretend that he hadn't fallen off the spare bed.

He dusted himself off, and looked around. His eyes met RED Spy's expression.

"What the fuck?" he nearly shouted.

"Shh, zere are people sleeping." Spy gestured towards the BLU Spy.

The BLU Scout opened his mouth, as if to say a sassy remark, then closed his mouth when he realized there was, indeed, others who had not waken yet.

"What the fuck?" he said, much more softly.

Spy rolled his eyes, and continued to look around the room. The two Medic were not present, and he couldn't see any other BLUs. His eyes landed on another figure, sleeping in another bed. His face was covered by his arms, but judging from the hat that hung over the bed, it was the Sniper.

Pulling out a cigarette, Spy looked over at the BLU Scout, studying his body language and facial emotions. His years of interrogation experience allowed him to practically read his target’s mind. "Why are you here?"

The Scout looked around.

"Me?" he asked.

"Yes, you." Spy muttered patiently. He knew how to deal with a Scout; the Scout on his team seemed to enjoy talking to everyone, even him.

"Well.." Scout frowned, sitting down and swinging his legs. "..You know abou' da Corruption, right?"

Spy nodded, placing the cigarette between his lips.

"Yo, don't smoke here, Fancy-pants." Scout grumbled. "I'm tryna tell you somethin' important."

"Juzt go on." Spy said, lighting the end of his cigarette. He nearly choked on the black liquid that tried to rise out of his throat, but he forced it down without much of a struggle.

"Whatever." Scout stopped swinging his legs, and sat still, trying to recall the why he was here at RED in the first place.

"Take your time." there was no time limit, so Spy saw no point in rushing the young mercenary. It was starting to get cold, but he didn't exactly know why.

Scout glared at him in response. "I don't know if you're tryna be nice to blackmail me or somethin', but if you are, ya won't even _believe_ how much it would hurt."

Spy tried not to smile in amusement, and just nodded.

Scout gave him one last glare, then dropped his gaze to the floor, continuing his search for memories.

At that moment, the door creaked open. Spy and Scout turned their heads toward the door, where the two Medics stood.

"How are you feeling, Herr Spy?" RED Medic asked, smiling.

"I am doing well." Spy replied on instinct, a little surprised. He actually was feeling okay. There was a discomfort in his throat and head, but it didn't feel like he was dying, so he felt fine.

He did not know why Medic was concerned for him. Well, he  _was_ the doctor's patient, but the look of relief on his face seemed a little suspicious.

"Why do you azk?"

Medic's smile faltered. "You seemed very.. upzet lazt night."

"Upset?" Spy grew still. The events from yesterday came flooding back into his head. "Oh.."

Spy closed his eyes, and took a deep drag from his cigarette. On other conditions, Medic would have snatched the cigarette away, ready to give a lecture to the Frenchman, with said Frenchman half listening, but now was not the time. Spy  _needed_ the calming cancer-stick. It was the only thing that was keeping him from breaking down.

BLU Medic checked on his own team's Scout, nervously avoiding eye-contact with Spy. RED Medic could only watch with worry, as Spy sank into the covers, refusing to get up. Spy obviously wanted some time and space to think, or maybe forget, and the doctor let him.

Spy sighed into the covers. He was warm, but he felt cold inside. He just wished that there was someone that he could talk to comfortably. Someone that he could lean on. Someone that he could embrace. Someone that he could love.

  *********

The peaceful silence was broken. Yes, it was much more quieter than the sound of a battlefield, with its gunshots and explosions, but the uneven whispering was quite irritating to hear.

Sniper grumbled, and opened his eyes. At first, he was confused that he was not staring at the roof of his camper, but relaxed when he realized that he was in the Infirmary. He sat up, reaching for his hat on instinct. The voices were coming from the left, and Sniper turned to see the two Medics, both whispering to each other with fear and concern on their face.

He did not know the exact reason of why they were so nervous, but he guessed that it had something to do with the Corruption. Thinking about Corruption, Sniper's thoughts landed on Spy. He remembered how broken Spy was after the battle last night, and he couldn't help but feel a strange worry for that Frenchman.

He searched the room until he spotted the familiar red suit. Spy was on the Examination table, just where he had been since yesterday. He was currently awake, but his gaze was unfocused and blank, so it was clear to the Aussie that he was deep in thought. Sniper let out a mental sigh of relief, and blushed almost immediately after. 

 _Why am I worrying about that bloody frog?_ he wondered.  _I'm an assassin! Assassins don't feel like that.._ Sniper shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts. He did not understand his thoughts. He did not understand why he felt a strange sort of compassion to that French bastard.

After he completed scolding himself for feeling feelings, Sniper noticed two more BLUs in the room. His eyes landed on the BLU Scout, who was currently eating a bowl of cereal, sitting on a bed a few feet away from Sniper. The runner looked up from his breakfast, and raised his eyebrows at Sniper.

"Yo, wassup?" he asked through a mouthful of cereal.

"Um, pretty good, mate." Sniper replied. As much as he did not like the pesky BLU runner, he had to admit that it was a nice exchange for peace with the enemy, instead of trying to shoot down a small, but fast Bostonian. 

"Ugh, do not talk wiz your mouth full."

Sniper spotted the BLU Spy behind the Scout, annoyance tracing his eyes. Scout turned and shot a "you suck" to the BLU Frenchman. BLU Spy snorted, and walked out of the room, but Sniper did not fail to notice the brief glance that the BLU Spy gave to the RED Spy, who glanced briefly at his counterpart in return. It was narrowed but relaxed, so Sniper did not know the exact type of emotion that was present in the gaze. It was probably just some sort of short greeting that French people did. Who knew what those weirdos did?

Sniper saw movement out of the corner of his eyes, and he turned his attention back to the BLU Scout, who dabbed just as the Sniper focused on him. That was when Sniper stood up to walk out of the room as fast as he could. He knew that all people who dabbed were the types who took nothing seriously. Everything was a joke to them, and Sniper was not the type to talk to weak people who never took things seriously.

Yes, he could handle them, but he would much rather not hang around someone who could easily pass their own sense of humor to even the most toughest man. He witnessed it happening on his friend once. He was about ten years old. His friend was the most serious kid he knew, but after hanging around another friend who loved memes, that tough friend of Sniper's was broken into a person who couldn't stop smiling. The very thought gave him shivers.

As he walked down the hallway, Sniper passed the two explosive men of his team, Soldier and Demoman. Soldier was still talking about the battle that had happened yesterday, while Demo laughed along with him, nodding. From the way Demo was swaying on his feet, Sniper guessed that he was drunk.

"Those three maggots were cornered by those other maggots!" Soldier was saying. "And then we just jumped down, and blew up everyone!"

The Soldier started punching his hand into his palm. "They had no chance against us!"

"Yeah, we did it man!" Demo said happily, raising his bottle into the air, trying to keep balance.

"I am proud of you, cupcake!" Soldier said, saluting the Demoman. "You did good son, real good."

"Ah, thanks mate." Demo threw his arms around Solly, and he returned the hug.

Sniper smiled and walked on, glad to see something familiar. As he neared the back door, he slowed to a stop. The corrupted BLUs could still be outside, so going to his camper at this time might not be a good idea.

Sniper turned to walk back, then paused. If he was going to be spending the base, then he wanted to take some things out of his camper out first. He slowly walked back to the door, hesitating over the doorknob. He checked through the peep-hole just in case.

It was morning, a thin layer of snow covered the ground, and he couldn't see any living thing. No corrupted BLUs. Sniper opened the door a little, just enough for him to peek out of. Still nothing. He waited for a few more seconds, listening for any movement. Nothing, except for the faint howl of cold wind.

He stepped out and walked to his camper swiftly, looking around with his kukri knife drawn. There was no sign of any threats. When Sniper finally reached the camper, he unlocked it and climbed inside. He let out a sigh of relief, then laughed quietly. This felt like some sort of zombie apocalypse.

The first thing that Sniper reached for was his extra weapons. They were very useful in many ways, and judging from the current situation that they were in, the extra weapons were needed critically. He then searched for his family items. He found the pictures and letters that he had received, and carried them back to base.

After he had finished, he stopped and closed the camper door behind him, locking it swiftly. He headed toward the base, still quick because he was still unsure if he was safe. He paused at the doorway. There was one more thing that he had forgotten, but he risked drawing attention to himself if tried to get it.

Sniper paced uncertainly in the doorway, looking around one last time. Not a single movement. Sniper let out a sigh, then took a deep breath, calling loudly into the air. It was a way to call for Sir Hootsalot, his owl that he had grown fond of over the years. He waited, still uncertain that he was safe, until he saw a shape in the sky.

It was the shape of a medium bird, feathers brown and eyes flashing. Sniper smiled. It was his owl. Sir Hootsalot, or Hoots for short, swooped down from the sky, and perched himself on Sniper's right shoulder.

Sniper knew that there was a strict "No pets" policy, but since Medic had refused to get rid of his doves, and Solly aggressively attacking anyone who tried to throw out his raccoon, the rule was now basically just a joke. Sniper carefully walked back into the base, allowing his owl to balance properly.

He passed the RED Scout, who asked Sniper if he could touch his owl. Sniper let him, and warned Scout not to be too rough. Scout used two fingers to stroke Hoots, who seemed to be enjoying the attention that he was getting. After Scout was done, he thanked Sniper rather loudly, then sped off to do whatever hyperactive young adults did for their daily life.

Sniper entered his room, and opened the window to let his owl rest. He was one of the few mercenaries who had a window, with Soldier yelling that a bomb could be tossed in at any moment, and Spy just refusing to sleep in any room with a window (He probably didn't even sleep in his room).

Sniper then laid his photos on the shelf that was next to his bed, carefully handling the glass frame that he had liked. He then lined the weapons neatly against the wall.

"A good assassin is an organized assassin,” as in what his trainer had told him. All of the mercenaries had to go through some training before joining the real war, which most people had agreed was useless. Each trainer had used a different technique, and they never bothered to talk with the other trainers, so Sniper did not know what the other mercenaries were treated and trained.

After he had finished organizing his room, Sniper decided to take a short nap. There was literally nothing to do, with the war in a pause and the other mercenaries doing their own thing. Besides, Sniper was tired. Most of his teammates got tired easily without coffee, and they had ran out of the bitter substance a few days ago.

Sniper sighed and closed his eyes. He tried to stop thinking about everything, but it came coming back. After a few moments, he fell into good dream, featuring him walking side by side with a certain French rouge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case this is helpful in any sort of way, I do not canon Spy as Scout's father.


	9. Past Wounds don't Heal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been thinking ahead for the next book.

After raiding the Medic's cabinet for painkillers and getting the permission from said Medic, Spy was allowed to walk freely in the base. He was still shaken from the recent battle, and the pain inside his throat, eyes, and head was not helping at all. He hid in his own room, locking the door and double checking the lock. He did not want anyone to walk in without a warning.

He knew that it was in the early afternoon from the color of light that shone through the space beneath the door. His fingers wrapped around the glass of water that he had brought with him. He reached into one of the hidden pockets of his red suit, and pulled out the painkillers.

The Frenchman just wanted to end the pain that the black liquid caused. The expensive cigarette slid out of his lips. The only reason why he used so much money on an everyday object was because he was paid a lot of money from the war, but he had nobody to share it with. He couldn't even send it to his parents, he had lost contact with them years ago, so he did not even know if they were alive. Probably not.

He took a small amount, not wanting to overdose, and popped the painkillers into his mouth. He took a sip of the water to wash it down. Almost immediately, the pain disappeared, well, almost. He could still feel a tingle in the areas where it used to hurt. It still surprised him that the drug worked almost immediately. Was this a normal painkiller?

He had a low pain and drug resistance, even when he was supposed to be trained to withstand pain in case of an interrogation. Of course, he would never tell the enemy anything. He would lose his job if otherwise, and the Administrator had high expectations for everyone. His mentor for when Spy had first entered the RED company was harsh, but understanding. He never pushed past Spy's limit, and he was grateful for that. He was lucky to have a mentor like that.

After the many months of training, he was sent into the real war. Here. He never saw his mentor again. Now, he was tired. He was always tired without coffee. Speaking of coffee, Spy wondered if there was anymore left. He was in the mood for a hot drink.

The Frenchman stood up from his place on his bed. He unlocked his door and opened it quietly. There was no one down the hall. He closed the door behind him, and headed towards the kitchen. He knew that the BLU Spy could be cloaked, but even if he was, the situation that both teams were in made his counterpart less than a threat.

They were working together for now. The Corruption was much more of a threat than a stupid war.

Suddenly, Spy stopped, listening hard. Had he imagined the set of footsteps that were not his? He stood still for a few more seconds. Silence. He slowly began walking again, only to stop after just a few feet. There it was again; the footsteps. Was he actually being followed by his cloaked counterpart?

He continued walking, uneasy. He decided not to call out to whatever was following him. If it was truly watching him, then it would have known that Spy had sensed something.

As if to give the RED Spy confirmation, laughter echoed down the halls. Spy tensed up at the sharp noise. There was two voices, one male, one female. They were both the laughter of children, but it was cold. He knew that sound from a long time ago.

Slowly, he turned around. He stared at the area behind him.

"Come out, Mary and Carl." he said, forcing his voice to stay calm.

The ghostly figures of two children appeared. They were twins, both about eleven years old. The ages they were when he had killed them.

The male child, Carl, stepped forwards.  _"So you do remember us."_

Spy nodded slightly. He knew what was coming next.

_"You remember how you snuck into our home." said the male. "You remember how you murdered our unsuspecting mother, and then finished us off when we saw you."_

_"You remember how you watched the life leaving our eyes." the female joined in. "You remember the last words that left our lips."_

_"Remember us."_ they both said it at the same time, just how they said it when they bled out on the ground.

At that moment, the wounds from their death appeared on their ghostly skin. A knife wound right under their rib cage. Blood poured from their wound, mouth, eyes.

Spy took a step backwards. The lights flickered on and off. The children disappeared, in their place, the RED and BLU Pyro.

They both raised their axes, and walked towards Spy, wanting to take it slow. They wanted it to be enjoyable.

Spy couldn't stand it anymore. He screamed, to let out the fear, the regret, but that only fed to the children's joy.

*****

"Are ya freakin' kidding me?"

BLU Spy snorted, crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow. "Zat is complete your own fault, and your own problem."

BLU Scout growled in frustration, flicking off the milk that he had spilled on himself. They were currently in the mess hall, and the BLU Scout had attempted to make a bowl of cereal by using his "awesome skills" of throwing. Of course, it did not end well. RED Scout, who had witnessed the whole event, let out a muffled laugh. BLU Scout immediately whipped around, ready to attack.

"Shut up!" he snarled.

"Ah-ha HA!" RED Scout continued taunting his counterpart.

The BLU Spy rolled his eyes, turning away from the two idiots. He was just glad that his own team's runner managed not to get milk and cereal on his own suit.

The two Medics walked in, both caught up in deep conversation. BLU Spy already knew that they were talking about the Corruption. They had been trying to find the cure for some time now.

"Zere has to be a way to repel the evil." BLU Medic muttered in a hushed voice.

"But how vill we figure it out?" RED Medic grumbled. "We can't juzt uze random chemical on ze infected anymore! Zere iz a chance that rezpawn might fail, dummkopf!"

"I know zat!" BLU hissed. "I'm ztill figuring zat part out."

RED Engineer peered into the mess hall from the kitchen, upon hearing the sounds of an upcoming argument. He had been making some pancakes with the Pyro, trying to make a hearty meal for the mercenaries.

"Vell think fazter, you-!"

"Vait, do you hear zat?"

Everyone grew quiet, even the two Scouts that never learned to shut up. They listened. At first they did not hear anything, but then, there were voices. It came from the main hall. The faint voices of children echoed down the corridor. Then there was a moment of silence. A few heartbeats later, a scream jolted the mercenaries out of their seats.

"Vat was zat?" BLU Medic asked.

"How should I know?" RED Scout muttered, voice shaking just a bit.

"Yo, ya scared?" BLU Scout tried to teased. His face was pale, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Um, no." RED Scout shook his head, still trembling. "You?"

"Pyro's gone!" Engie looked around frantically. "He jus' disappeared outta thin air!"

"He dizappeared ven we heard those voicez.." RED Medic pulled at his gloves. "I think those voices had somezing to do with Herr Pyro."

BLU Medic nodded. "I agree."

"How can ya'll be so sure?" asked the Engineer, clearly worried about the Pyro. "That seems impossible!"

RED Medic shook his head grimly. "With ze situation zat we are in, anyzing can happen."

"Vell, not  _anyzing._ " BLU Medic corrected. " _Somezings_ can happen, but not  _everyzing._ "

"You should have known vat I meant," RED Medic growled. "Now iz not ze time for correctionz!"

The RED and BLU Medic started to sink into an argument once more. BLU Spy stood silently the whole time, not wanting to engage in the conversation. He was currently wondering who had screamed in the hallway. The two voices were, of course, unfamiliar, but the scream.. He had only heard the Scouts scream, but he knew that whoever was suffering down the hallway, was someone he knew.

"Enough talkin', boys." the Engineer put his hands on his hips. "Can ya'll stop so tha' we can go an' find Pyro?"

RED Medic glared at the Texan, while the BLU scratched the back of head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, let's go." RED Scout eyed his counterpart. "I'm not scared or nothin'"

"Me neither." BLU Scout puffed out his scrawny chest. "Nothin' scares me"

BLU Spy rolled his eyes at the pathetic acting. He just wanted to hurry up and get past all of this nonsense.

They all headed down the hall. The two Medics were at the front, standing side to side with their bone-saws out. Engie followed at the middle, keeping his shotgun loaded, and his hand never strayed far from his trusty wrench. RED Scout stayed close to the Engineer, trusting him and nervously looking around. BLU Scout, not trusting the REDs and not wanting to be at the way front with his Medic, trudged behind the group, running quickly forward when he straggled too behind. The BLU Spy, of course, walked along the side, invisible to all with his cloak. He took a quick glance behind from time to time, not wanting to be caught by surprise.

The children's voices grew louder, and RED Scout gripped the handle of his bat. There was only one more corner before the voices. BLU Spy de-cloaked and signaled the others to stop and keep quiet. He then cloaked again. He walked over to the corner, and peered around it.

He expected to see two children, but instead, he saw two Pyros, RED and BLU. They're axes gleamed in the faint light, and their mask seemed to laugh. He saw his counterpart, the RED Spy, on the ground. There were two stab-wounds under his rib-cage, one near his left side and the other near his right. The wounds seemed to have come from a knife, but then that would not make sense, seeing that the attackers were holding axes, not knives. BLU was surprised that the RED had not passed out yet. 

 _"..now, suffer the wounds that you have given us."_ the BLU Pyro was saying in a small boy's voice.

 _"There are more to come."_ RED Pyro whispered, in the voice of a small girl.  _"Each permanent death that you have caused, each wound, will come back to haunt you forever."_

BLU Spy frowned.  _What ze Hell?_

An arm roughly shoved him away, and BLU Spy nearly lost his balance. RED Engie stared at the two Pyros and the wounded Spy, gaping at them in disbelief. "Pyro? Why did you do this?"

BLU Medic appeared from the corner. "Zey are not ze real Pyros, zey are possessed by demons."

"D-demons?" RED Scout peered at them. "Now th-there are demons!?"

"Aw, Hell no!" BLU Scout looked as if he wanted to run, but he did not want to be alone in the dark.

RED Medic waved his bone-saw threateningly. "I guezz ve have to rip them out of ze bodiez. Engineer, is Respawn still vorking?"

Engie nodded. "Yeah.. but there is a chance tha' Respawn migh' not work."

"Hm, zen I guezz ve have to do it zis way." RED Medic walked towards the Pyros, bone-saw ready.

BLU Medic followed, uncertain but determined. The two Pyros laughed in a cold, childish way, all giggles and squeaks. Then, they both twisted awkwardly, and fell forward, limp.

Engie ran forward and helped Pyro up, who seemed to be in a bit of a daze. BLU Pyro did not recover as fast, but twitched from time to time.

RED Medic pulled out his medi-gun, and started healing the Spy.

"I am juzt glad zat zings did not get worse." BLU Medic sighed.

RED Medic frowned. "Hiz bleeding haz stopped, but the wound iz not closing.."

"Vat? Zat iz impossible." BLU Medic peered at the stab wounds.

Sure enough, there was no more blood, but his wound would not seal.

"Iz ze medi-gun malfunctioning?" BLU asked.

"Of courze not!" RED Medic huffed. "It never failed me before.."

"Hudmfd hmnds mnt fm mmfd." RED Pyro piped up. "Mfny thm prmvmkd dhmns hud mmf thms."

"Cursed wounds can't be cured." Engie translated. "Only the provoked demons can cure them."

"Spy- er, RED Spy." BLU Medic eyed the wounded Spy. "Do you know vat ze Pyro mean about zese "cursez"? Vat did you do to "provoke" ze demons?"

RED Spy bit the bottom of his lips ever so slightly. He obviously did not want to talk about it, and Engie, being the caring mercenary, understood his discomfort.

"Hey boys, give him some space." he said. "He almost died right now, like, for real."

The Frenchman flashed him a grateful look, then tried to stand. "Merci, Engineer. Now, if you docteurs can excuse me, I will take my leave." He cloaked, and disappeared from sight.

RED Medic sighed. "Ve vill never find ze cure."

"He'll talk when he's ready." said Engie, checking RED Pyro to make sure that he was alright.

"I suppose.." RED Medic stared uncertainly into the distance.

_"Ugh.. I can't believe they left me behind.."_

BLU Medic whirled around to stare at the BLU Pyro, who had sat up, scratching the top of his masked head.

 _"Oh great, they sealed me in this body."_ The BLU Pyro seemed to struggle within himself.

"Iz zere a demon trapped in Pyro's body?" BLU Medic asked.

"It lookz like it." RED Medic started to smile. "Perfect. We can azk him questionz to make ze cure."

 _"Wait, stay back!"_ BLU Pyro tried to scramble to his feet, but the RED Medic was already injecting something into his arm with a syringe.

The BLU Pyro gave one last twitch, before slumping to the floor, unconscious. The RED Medic started to drag the limp body away, heading towards the Med-Bay. BLU Medic grabbed the Pyro's other arm, helping his counterpart.

The two Scouts peeked out from around the corner. They were hiding the whole time.

"Aw, jeez." RED Scout scratched his head, masking his relief of fear. "All this demon crap is making my head hurt."

"Yeah," BLU Scout agreed, also hiding his relief. "Imma go play some baseball. Wanna join?"

"Aw, yeah!" RED Scout immediately cheered up. "Let's go!"

BLU Spy had no idea how they would manage to play baseball with only two players, but he decided not to question it. God, he needed a cigarette. He huffed, cloaking away into the darkness.

Engie stayed with Pyro, still worried for the firebug.

"Wanna make some cookies togtha?" he asked, wanting the to cheer the Pyro up.

"Mf cmmrs!" the Pyro cheered, giving a thumbs-up to the Engineer.

Engie chuckled, patting Pyro on the head. "Let's go to the kitchen then, pardner."

They headed towards the kitchen hoping to surprise the rest of the team with the sweets that they will make. Meanwhile, Solly and Demo were busy planning an explosive trap for the next time the infected BLUs attacked, all while stuffing their faces with the pancakes that they had found on the stove..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no routine for updating. I can only update at random times, when I feel the urge to do so. Thank you for your patience, and I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.


	10. Warning and Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been distracted lately.
> 
> Edit: I am so sorry! It really has been while. Not to worry, but I plan to finish this story. Even if it will take a long time, I plan to finish it. I had so many plans for this.. If you want to know the reason why I was idle for months, just read the End Notes after this chapter. Thank you so much for your patience!

RED Spy stumbled down the hallway, no particular destination in mind. At first, he wanted to go outside, where he could think and smoke freely, but the constant threat of corrupted danger changed his mind. What about his room? It was windowless, but that made it harder to smoke.

It hurt. His throat, his head, his chest, his eyes, his heart. His wounds were merely a sting, thanks to the medi-gun. He longed for a warm touch. He longed for familiar, comforting arms to embrace him. _No, what ze hell?_ Spy shook off the longing feeling. _I should not be zinking that way.. those moments are over.._

But he could not help thinking about a time when he had first joined the RED company. He was taken into training by another spy. His mentor was caring enough, and gave him little breaks between lessons to let him socialize with the other in-trainings..

_"Ze lesson is over." Spy's mentor, who he called "RED", wiped his knife with a cloth. "You can go find ze other members that are also training. Go."_

_Spy wiped the sweat off of his masked face. His mentor told him to always wear it, because spies could not reveal their identities no matter what. Spy was completely fine with not revealing his identity, but the mask was a little uncomfortable. RED took notice of his discomfort, and tried to encourage him gently._

_"It iz alright." his mentor said. "The earlier you ztart, the fazter you will get uzed to it."_

_Spy was forever grateful for RED's caring and comforting way of teaching. He had braced himself for harsh, strict, punishing ways of training, but instead, rewarded with a slow and steady way. He had asked his mentor why they were taking it slow, and his mentor replied that it is better to build your strengths slowly and carefully instead of rushing it and making many bad habits with mistakes as you build. Spy completely agreed on that._

_He moved stealthily down the corridors. He was a young spy, and he wanted to practice everything he learned on his soon-to-be teammates, except for his blade techniques of course._

_He spotted a young trainee walking down the hallway. The trainee looked around Spy's age, possibly younger. He was constantly looking around, probably nervous. His hands were close to his weapon, which was a kukri knife. It was sharp, and Spy knew that he had to be careful. It was better to not scare this person by sneaking up on him._

_Spy slithered back the way he had come from, and around the corner. He then dropped his stealth mode, and walked back to the trainee, openly, and pretending that he was not watching him just a while ago. The trainee stopped in his tracks when he spotted Spy, and Spy did the same._

_Spy knew that his class were not to be trusted, and that most of his type always had a look of threat held in their eyes, but Spy did not want to provoke his own teammate. He tried to look friendly without smiling, which was pretty hard to do with a mask on._

_"Uh.. hey there, mate." the trainee said with uncertainty._

_"Hello." Spy decided not to use his French. The last time he had met a trainee, which was Soldier, he used a French word and nearly got decapitated with a shovel. He never looked at a shovel the same way after that._

_"You a spy?" the trainee asked. "Our spy, I mean. Not the enemy's bloody spook."_

_The trainee's eyes narrowed with the thought. Spy blinked._

_"Yes?" he decided. "I am only training, like you."_

_"Hm, alright, mate." the trainee straightened up._

_"Call me Sniper." he said. "Me mentor told me that I shouldn't tell anyone my name."_

_"The you may call me Spy." Spy said politely._

_That was the first time that Spy had introduced himself to another trainee without getting attacked. That was a good start.._

Spy sighed. That was all in the past. Now, he was in pain, and tired. He ended up in the Mess Hall. He crushed his cigarette and threw it in the trash bin. He walked over to the bench, and made himself comfortable, trying to sleep. That was the moment where he had forgotten to cloak with his Cloak and Dagger, which allowed him to sleep without anyone seeing him. He closed his eyes, too tired to think.

Right before he drifted to sleep, he felt a comfort, a warmth, wrapping around him. It was nice, but he couldn't tell if he was awake or dreaming. The warmth disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving him feeling cold and very much alone.

Spy opened his eyes. He sat up from his own bed, and frowned. He fell asleep at the Mess Hall, not his bed. Sleep walking was not the answer, because Spy never does that. He remembered the warmth. Did someone carry him to his room? _Merde._ He felt a faint heat in his heart, but quickly snapped out of it.

 _No no no.._ He remembered the feeling. He first felt it when he was very young. He felt it after he had met that woman.. Love. But now, she is gone, just like all of the other women he had fallen for. Except for one. He had to leave her in Boston. He never told her why, but he had to. It was the only way to keep her safe.

He never heard from her again. After that, he had made a promise to himself, to never love a woman again. Woman.. right, everyone here are men, so why is Spy feeling like.. this? He shouldn't be.. He was certain that he was not homosexual. He loved women.. but what if he was bisexual?

Spy cracked his knuckles one by one from nervous habit. He had never felt such emotions for another man. Why now? Why at this moment? He sighed through his nose. What a terrible time to fall in love. He didn't even know who he had fallen for, nor did he want to know. He didn't want to think about it.

He decided not to light a cigarette just yet. The door was closed, which Spy was grateful of. He walked over to the door. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't locked. Nobody could lock a door from the outside, unless they had the key.

He opened the door and peeked down the hallway. He saw a shadow disappearing on the end. It was slender but tall. It was not very muscular like Heavy, Demoman, and Soldier. It was not short like Scout. It was not chubby like Engineer and Pyro. That meant that it could only be either a Sniper, Medic, or a Spy.

Spy seriously hoped that it was not his counterpart. It would be better if it was a Medic. If it was BLU Spy, he would probably sneer at RED Spy for being so unprepared. If it was a Sniper, it would have been very awkward. Medics were alright. Medics were the few that Spy could trust. The doctor would not tell a secret, and he would try not to hurt anyone on purpose. Well, at least not now.

The Frenchman sighed. He closed the door and locked it. He anxiously took of his mask, slowly. He did not feel like himself, and he just had to see. He just had to _see his own face._  He turned towards the mirror. He had almost forgotten how he had looked like. It really had been a while.

He stared into his own green eyes. _Was this really him?_ He touched his own face, tracing the structure. When he was out on the battlefield, he was usually invisible or disguised as someone else, never showing his true self for too long. When he was invisible, he felt like he did not even exsist. When he was disguised, he felt like he was someone else.

Spy closed his eyes in thought. He was not someone else. He was a Spy, but he had his own identity. Yes he remembered his own name, but none of the mercenaries ever revealed their own names, not even Scout, who was a loudmouth and never failed to blurt out everything on his mind.

Suddenly, he saw a shadow under his door. He quickly slipped his mask back on, a little panicked even when he knew that the door was locked. The shadow was pacing back and forth, as if thinking. Then, the shadow's owner knocked on the door. At least whoever was out there was polite to knock, instead of trying to barge inside.

"Who iz it?" Spy forgot to add in the snappy tone in his voice, so it came out with a tired, "I'm done with everything" tone.

"Uh, hey Spy, ya alright in there?" it was Scout.

"Why do you azk?" Spy muttered. He decided to stick with his tired voice. No use in changing it now.

"Medic- um, Medic wanted me to check on you." he replied. "Ya know, just in case you were bein' attacked or somethin'."

Spy hummed in thought. "Well, I am not exzactly getting phyzically attacked at zis moment, so I guess I am feeling fine."

"Oh." Scout was silent for a moment. "Can I.. can I come inside?"

 _What?_ Spy raised an eyebrow, even when Scout could not see him. Why did Scout wanted to come inside his room? He never tried to come inside on his own. He even told Spy that he would probably die when he entered his room, because of all the smoke and cologne.

"Ya- ya don't have to!" Scout started to get flustered at Spy's silence. "I'm not pushin' ya or anythin'. I'm just.."

Spy actually felt a little bad for the boy. Just a little. "..You may enter."

"Oh, alright.. bye." Scout started to walk away, but then he stopped. "Wait, what the hell? Really?"

Spy rolled his eyes, standing up to unlock his door. "Yes. Now come inside unless you want me to change my mind."

Scout opened the door, and Spy heard the two pairs of footsteps. He narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw the BLU Scout following RED Scout into his room.

"Zere were two of you outzide."

RED Scout chuckled. "Yeah, BLU here didn' want t'talk for some reason."

Spy turned his gaze to BLU. "And why iz zat?"

BLU Scout paused for a moment before saying, "Our Spy dislikes socializin'. He snaps at us. We got used to it, but then it started t'get worse recently. Now, I don't like talkin' to him at all."

Spy nodded with understanding. When he had snuck into the BLU's base, he had quickly found out that his counterpart had a cold and stiff shell. He had seen the rare times when the BLU Spy had spoken softly and happily on the phone, but for the most part, he was shady and solitary.

"So, what iz it?" Spy eyed the two boys. They were identical, but he could see the small differences in them. BLU Scout had a more thinner structure and RED Scout had a smoother face.

The two looked at each other. They seemed to be internally telling each other _“Tell him.” “No you.” “Come on, man! It was your idea!” “Uh, no. Why do I have to do it?”_

Spy cleared his throat, and the boys snapped out of their silent argument.

”Uh-“ They both started at the same time, and stopped. They looked at each other, urging the other to go on.

”Fine, we-“ Again, they both started and stopped at the same time.

”I-“

”Well, you see-“

”This is uh-“

”Hmmmm.”

Spy rolled his eyes. The two Scouts were saying the same thing, at the time, with the same tone, and the same expressions on their face. It was actually kind of scary, now that Spy thought about it.

”Alright, RED, you may zpeak firzt.” He smiled slightly at his Scout, who spluttered and glared at him in return.

”Uh, fine!” The RED Scout pouted, crossing his arms over his scrawny chest. He then glared at the BLU Scout.

”Go on, man.” BLU Scout smiled slyly. “Listen to what RED Fancy-pants said.”

RED Scout growled slightly, then took a breath to start. “Okay, so basically, me and BLU here have more than one reason fer comin’ into ya room.”

Spy raised an eyebrow, silently telling the runner to continue.

”And.. the first reason is..” Scout hesitated, then resumed his talking. “Well, we were bored and wanted t’know what th’others were doin’, ya know?”

Spy snorted, not impressed. “And ze other reazonz?”

”Um, well..” BLU decided to speak, and RED Scout seemed grateful for that. “You see, I wanted t’warn you ‘bout somethin’.”

”Hm?” Spy straightened up, interested. “Warn me?”

”Uh, yeah.” BLU Scout seemed very uncomfortable. “Okay, don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not bein’ entirely friendly with you REDs just ‘cause we have a truce at th’moment, ‘kay?”

”Yeah, yeah.” Red Scout muttered, while Spy gave the BLU a curt nod.

”M’kay, anyways, I think that Spy- our Spy, the BLU Spy -is tryna spy on ya, ya know what I mean, right? Like he’s tryna figure out somethin’ an’ he’s watchin’ ya all creepy an’ stuff, an’ he jus’ keeps looking through them medical files.”

He paused, taking a breath from his fast-paced rant. He then sighed softly, speaking more calmly and quietly.

“It’s like he’s tryna.. y’know.. figure you out or somethin’. Looking for whateva secrets you’re hidin’.. I dunno..”

The room was filled with silence. The only noise was breathing, and the slight crinkle of the bedsheets whenever someone moved.

”..I see.” Spy muttered. So his counterpart was spying on him? _Merde.._

He stood up suddenly, startling the two Scouts. “Alright, _merci beaucoup_. I wil keep that in mind.”

He shooed the identical males outside of his room, closing the door behind them. He locked the door and listened. There was a few seconds of silence, then something that sounded like “Y’wanna go play some baseball in the hallways?” and a “Yeah, sure!” before two pairs of excited footsteps running away from his door and echoing down the corridor.

Spy let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes. At least he had gotten some heads-up from the BLU Scout. He was actually very grateful for that. He had been on-edge, with all of this Corruption and demons and those.. those victims.. He closed his eyes. _Why.. I am so sorry.._

He regretted it. He regretted those.. those crimes. An icy cold filled the room. How many people had he killed back then? Back when he was.. _Ugh.._

_”Exactly one-hundred and twenty-six people.”_

“Sacre bleu..!” Spy stiffened, biting his lower lip. That voice..

Harsh laughter echoed his mind. _“Haha.. yes.. you remember, eh?”_

Spy trembled. “You..”

_“Yes, me. It was expected for you to remember me. After all.. I was one of the first..”_

He gritted his teeth. “Why are you.. why are you here? How are you here?”

The lights flickered off, and a pair of red eyes opened through the darkness. _“We victims can not rest until we have placed our marks on the murderer. You have to endure each and every wound that you have inflicted on us.”_

Spy’s eyes flashed with fear and alarm, causing the red-eyed.. “demon” to laugh again, with that same cold rasp. _“But you should feel honored! We would have to keep you alive, so enjoy the protection that we would provide you! I mean.. we wouldn’t want the fun to end so quickly, hm?”_

The Frenchman curled his fingers into fists, biting his lower lip hard, but not hard enough to break the skin. _Endure every single wound.._

 _“Yes, every single one.”_ The demon let out a soft, sinister chuckle. _“But after that.. we will have to drag you down to Hell to seal the mark. Then, we will all be able to finally rest..”_

The demon leaned forward towards Spy, slowly reaching out an arm to him. The arm seemed to be made of solidified shadows, and the fingers were ghostly claws. Spy felt his heart rate increasing, and his breaths were coming in strangled gasps.

He backed away from the demon, back against the wall and sliding down, trying to get as far away from that thing as possible. “Get.. get away!”

_”You were so young too.. It surprised me, to see someone kill at such a young age.”_

The demon leaned down, grinning down at him. It lightly rested its clawed fingers on Spy’s face, and the Frenchman felt so much fear, so much pain, and suddenly, he was not in his room anymore.

He blinked slowly, fear and pain vanishing. He knew this place, this house. He sat up from the warm covers of the bed that was not his. Everything felt so real. It was night, judging from the absence of light from the windows. This was the house of.. of his first victim.

He strangely felt as if it was entirely normal. This was his life, just another’s normal night where he had woken up accidentally again. Just another normal night. He shivered, rolling back into the covers. He closed his eyes again, trying to sleep.

Suddenly, he heard a sliding noise, like a window opening. He frowned, eyes still closed. Maybe his father had gone out again while he was asleep, and was just coming in again. He smiled. He loved his father so much. He was sixteen years old, and his father was in his late forties. His mother was also in her late forties, and he loved her too. Both of his parents were very.. cool.

He smiled. They were the leaders of the biggest mafia group in the city! They were rich as heck, and even if someone tried to kill them, there was always at least three mafia members that would alert his parents and get rid of the threat. He knew that it was bad.. but hey! It sure made his life much more interesting! He even learned how to use a gun!

Footsteps were heard from outside his room, probably heading towards his parents’ room. He grinned. What had his father done in the night, did he get into another fight with the second-biggest mafia and won?

Suddenly, there was silence. A voice yelled something, then there were a scramble of rapid footsteps. A gunshot. Screaming. He tensed up, heartbeat speeding up slightly. An intruder? Was his father getting rid of a threat? He reached into his pillowcase for his gun, then sped out into the hall.

As he ran towards his parents’ room, he felt adrenaline rush through his veins. Maybe he could prove to his father that he would be a great mafia leader by helping him take down that dumb intruder! Anyone who tries to harm the mafia leader or his family is basically committing suicide.

As he neared the door to his destination, he slowed to a stop. The bedroom were absent of windows, and all of the lights were off. He could not see through the thick darkness of the room. The screaming had long since stopped, leaving only pure silence.

He felt worried. “Mom? Dad?”

Silence.

”Come on, Dad, this isn’t funny.”

Nothing. Not even a breath. Not even a footstep.

Maybe they were testing him again. He took a long, deep breath. He walked towards the pitch black room steadily, gun at the ready and finger resting on the trigger, just how his dad taught him to do. Calm confidence is important. Despite his worry, he smiled. Maybe he could impress his father.

He flicked on the lights and pointed his gun at his father, only to freeze in alarm. Blood.. everywhere. Blood on the floor. Blood on the walls. Blood on the ceiling. Blood on the bed. Blood on the desk. Blood on the covers. Blood on the drawers. Blood on.. _his parents._

He dropped his gun. His parents.. what had happened to his beloved parents? They were unmoving, eyes glazed over and unseeing, clothes stained with their own blood. There was a gaping wound in their back, most likely made from some sort of knife.

The tears came with the strangled cry. His right arm hugged at his stomach and his left hand clutched at his mouth, stifling his own shocked gasps and sobs. _Why?_

”..Désolé..”

He whirled around at the voice, the voice that was filled with so much pain and regret. He saw the small, slender figure of.. another boy like him. The boy appeared younger, probably around thirteen. His dark green eyes were unblinking, filled unmistakably with tears. In his right hand was a balisong, the blade out and stained with blood.

It was him! He killed his parents!

He scrambled away from the kid, away from the murderer, eyes wide with fear and shock. _What is this kid doing? Why? Why?_

The kid took a step forwards, whispering in a language that he could not understand. It sounded like pleading, filled with in a strange sort of sadness that a murderer should not posses. He tore his eyes from the child’s tear-stained face, searching wildly. _Where was his gun?_

The boy immediately caught onto what he was doing, and just as he reached for the weapon that his now dead father had given him, the green-eyed boy kicked it away from his range.

He screamed. Of fear, of pain, of rage. This was not fair. This was so not fair. It felt so.. unreal. Was this actually happening? His parents, were the actually dead? They were there, they were right there! Sitting only three feet away from them! They are still here, so why.. why did it hurt so much?

His cries were cut off abruptly by something cold, wet, and sticky, cutting through his flesh and lodging itself into his throat, blocking his airway and tearing his vocal cords. He let out a bloody gurgle, and suddenly the boy was on top of him, hushing him and staring at him with regret.

He flared at the kid. _I hate you! You murdered my parents, my family. I’m going to kill you! I have to! I have to.._ He couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t even say his final words! He could only let out a torn, gurgling scream of pain and anger, blinking hot tears out of his eyes and staring daggers at the boy. _I will never forget you! Why would you do this? How could you do this? You monster!_

The boy only stared back, frozen and breathing hard. The pain in his throat was only a sting compared to the pain in his heart, his mind. He thrashed against the boy, but he knew that he was dying. It felt so.. unreal. He never expected this to happen, at least not now. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and instead of “the light” that was said to be seen before somebody died.. he saw nothing but darkness.

Suddenly, he wasn not the teenager that had just died. He was him. He was the murderer. The green-eyed boy that had murdered the mafia family. Spy gasped. _No, not that. Please, not that again. I can not.. I can not..!_

The demon let out a cold laugh. _“Now, do you understand? I hated you so much after that night.. I refused to rest, because I knew that I would never be at peace if I did. I had to keep to my promise.. I had to kill you before I rest. My parents.. oh, they would be so proud!”_

The pain in his throat refused to leave. He coughed, as if that could rid of the knife that was not there.

 _“This is only the beginning..”_ the demon laughed, lunging forward and into Spy’s body. He felt the corrupted soul wrapping around his own soul, and he gasped for breath as black liquid surged out of his throat.

The pain was almost too much for him. He felt as if he was suffocating by swallowing a knife. It hurt.. it hurt! He curled into himself, chest heaving as he fought for breath. He closed his eyes tightly. He could do this.. he could survive this. His past was not going to take him. He was.. going to.. survive. Another flash of pain shot up his throat. He could almost hear that cold laughter, mocking him, hating him.

He needed to find the Medic. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t move. What was happening to him? He saw black dots covering his vision. He felt light-headed, and for some strange reason, it felt completely normal. He sat back down. Maybe.. maybe he should rest. Time heals all wounds, so maybe, if he wakes up, he could be better..

His eyes closed slowly, trying to endure the constant pain and trying to slow his rapid heartbeat. Just before he hit unconsciousness, he felt his blood run cold, and icy fingers covering his already closed eyes. _What is happening to me..?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that was pretty confusing, even for me. If you are still confused, then let me summarize the situation for you. Basically, RED Spy killed one-hundred-twenty-six people before he actually joined RED, and those people that he killed turned into angry, restless spirits that want revenge in him.
> 
> When that demon touched him, Spy had to experience that victim’s own fear, anger, and death. Instead of Spy actually dying, he has to remain alive and breathing, but with the wounds that caused the victim’s death. Basically, actual karma. Yes, this is torture. Sorry Spy.
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: Alright, so the reason why I stopped for a few months is.. well, I got bored. This fandom, the Team Fortress 2 fandom. It was amazing, hilarious, and I loved it, yet.. I moved on. I got into other fandoms, and I started to write stories for them.
> 
> After a few months of exploring new fandoms and settling in.. I remembered this story, as I was watching one of the amazing TF2 YouTubers. I remembered, so I logged back into my account, with that same name “TheHolyMackerel” and the changed number of hits, kudos, and comments.
> 
> I was amazed. I had to read my own fanfiction to remember the plot and story. The few comments that I found just made me smile without me trying to. It just.. thank you so much.
> 
> It has been eleven years since the actual game was released, yet there are still those people that are keeping this games alive. That amazes me. Tf2 is really a “Timeless Masterpiece- LazyPurple.”
> 
> Yes, that is my favorite TF2 YouTuber, and his videos were one of the reasons that I decided to come back into the TF2 community. I love this fandom, because it is so hilarious, balanced, friendly, and silly that it draws me in. I used to love Pixel Gun 3D, but it is trash now compared to TF2. Pixel Gun is so toxic and so unbalanced, I just.. I could not stand it.
> 
> Team Fortress 2. After months of isolation, I am back. (If I leave again, remember, I will come back again! Unless I die.. but that is not the point!)


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